BEIJING (AP) — Chinese media reports say a city near the border with North Korea has held an air raid drill amid tensions over Pyongyang’s latest threats.
The official China News Service said Friday that authorities in Huichen, a city of 250,000 people in Jilin province, sounded alarms in residential areas on Thursday morning.
It quoted the leader of the exercise, Xu Helin, as saying the city plans a series of drills to boost residents’ “disaster response abilities.”
Hong Kong’s Phoenix TV cited unidentified government sources as saying the drill was previously scheduled and was not a response to current tensions.
North Korea has warned of a possible nuclear war and said it has weapons “on standby” if provoked.
Calls to the city’s spokesman and civil air defense office rang unanswered.
